AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER10
ZENNOR
Then
Ithought I was going to hate this summer, but then Jayce shows up and shifts everything.
Each day I want to get up and see him—spend all the time I can with him. Even when the sun isn’t shining, I don’t care because we still hang out. We watch a film at my house in the evening when Mum is out, lie on the beach, and talk while looking up at the stars.
Molly has been great at letting me work my shifts around Jayce a little. He’s meant to be here on a family holiday, so spending time with his family has been important, at least to his mum. And when he’s been surfing, I can either work or watch.
I’ve never been pulled to the ocean before. I love the beach and the sun, but I’ve never been fond of the water. It’s cold and rough, but I can watch Jayce for hours. It’s like he’s at one with the waves, picking the exact time and in rhythm with the tide. He rides them like he’s part of the wave. He gets it wrong sometimes, but that makes it more fun to watch.
It’s a pretty amazing picture, and I wish there were more time in the world we’ve created because it’s slipping away. He’s going to leave, and I’m already choked up about that thought.
I’m working at Molly’s over lunch, so I’ve been getting up and heading over to see Jayce for breakfast. I’ve only seen his family from the doorstep so far, and I can’t hide that I’m a little nervous about meeting them properly.
The sun’s shining again, so I grab my favourite cut-offs and trainers and pick out a colourful t-shirt. My hair is usually abandoned in a bun, but this morning I coat the shoulder-length strands in a deep conditioner that will tame some of the frizz and bring out my true colour and glossiness.
My dad isn’t present in our lives, but he left his mark physically in our appearance. Both my sister and I have a paler version of his darker skin and hair. Mum told us he was from Mauritius but moved here when he was a teenager. He left when we were young, and that’s all Mum’s been prepared to discuss with us. She’s never impolite about him, which is more than I would be, but Tegan and I don’t want to know a man who didn’t want to be part of his own children’s lives.
“See you later!” I call to Mum and Tegan, who are both at the table in the kitchen.
I close the door, and my heart skips a beat as I stutter to a stop. Jayce is sitting on the wall at the front of the house, his back to the door, looking out towards the sea.
“Morning,” I greet.
“Morning. I thought I’d walk you to mine.”
“I think I could have managed, but thank you.” I smile up at him. He brings his lips down to kiss me, far too quickly, before he drapes his arm over my shoulder and sets us off towards his holiday house.
We head through the narrow streets, and it’s not long before we’re on the tiny road with his house at the end.
“What are you doing tonight?” Jayce asks.
“Um, I’m off at six. So, I was thinking we’d be seeing each other?” I look up at him, hoping that’s where this conversation is heading.
“Fancy coming over to mine? We’d have the place to ourselves.”
My stomach drops at those words, and my heart picks up the pace.
“Sure.” I turn to Jayce, but he’s not looking at me, and I wonder if he’s nervous about the unsaid words in the invitation he set out. We’ve not known each other long, and it could be described as just a holiday romance, but it feels bigger than that to me, even if I already know it can’t last.
It doesn’t stop me wishing we could spend every minute together.
He drops his arm to take my hand in his as he pauses at the front door. “There’s no pressure. About tonight, I mean.” His usual grin is missing from his face, and it’s sweet. He’s trying to put me at ease, but he doesn’t have to.
“I know.” The nerves flutter and tickle my stomach and don’t help with how I was feeling about meeting his family, but I want to be with Jayce. I want Jayce to be as crazy about me as I am about him. And sleeping with him is the next step, even if it’s fast.
His eyes look at me as if he’s in pain. The greens are dull and murky in this light, and I want the bright, impossible-to-resist colour back. “Hey, you okay?”
“Sure. I really like you, Zennor Williams. And I’m trying hard not to rush things, but at the same time…” He takes my face in his hands and kisses me. The kiss feels like a promise of something, but I’m not sure what. He’s soft and gentle, and we both need to catch our breath when he pulls away.
“Come on.” He turns to the door and opens it.
After my shift, I race home and jump straight into the shower. I keep my hair dry as I’ve already been through the effort this morning, but I want to make sure I’m clean, and that includes shaving my legs and plastering moisturiser on them.
Part of me doesn’t want to know what is going to happen and trusts that the perfect moment will just present itself. I don’t live in a romance movie, but that doesn’t mean my first time can’t be part planned, part romance, right? However, sex on the beach under the stars is not at the top of my perfect moment list. Sand gets everywhere when you’re lying on the beach perfectly still, let alone anything else.
